| Understanding diagnosis of a brain tumour | 1321.00000000000 | Understanding diagnosis of a brain tumour | Understanding diagnosis of a brain tumour | U | English | Neurology;Oncology | Child (0-12 years);Teen (13-18 years) | Brain | Nervous system | NA | Adult (19+) | NA | | 2009-08-14T04:00:00Z | | Eric Bouffet, MD, FRCPC | | | | 10.0000000000000 | 52.0000000000000 | 609.000000000000 | | Flat Content | Health A-Z | <p>Understanding the diagnosis of a brain tumor is necessary to choose the most effective treatment for your child.</p> | <p>Diagnosis is an important stage in understanding what is happening with your child. To help make a diagnosis, your child's doctor will do a thorough neurological assessment and order some diagnostic tests. These tests can show whether a brain tumour is causing the symptoms your child has been experiencing. If there is a tumour, these tests will also provide information about the type of tumour and where the tumour is located. This information helps the treatment team choose the most effective treatment for your child.</p>
<p>If your child's symptoms are severe, they may need an urgent operation to relieve the symptoms. The doctor will also need to obtain a biopsy. </p> | | <h2>Key points</h2>
<ul><li>Diagnosis involves a physical examination, medical history, neurological examination and diagnostic testing.</li>
<li>Grading is a system that indicates how aggressively tumour cells are growing.</li>
<li>Staging determines the type of treatment that is most effective.</li>
<li>The doctor will discuss next steps with you once they know what type of tumour your child has.</li></ul> | <figure>
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<h2>What happens during diagnosis?</h2>
<p>Diagnosis usually begins with a physical examination. This may be carried out by a neurologist, neurosurgeon, nurse practitioner, or medical resident. A family doctor, paediatrician, or an emergency room doctor may have already done a physical exam, but it is important for each new doctor to understand your child’s situation. The examiner will observe your child and ask questions about the symptoms as well as about your child’s past medical history. They will also conduct a neurological examination. </p>
<p>If the results suggest that there may be a brain tumour, additional tests will be scheduled. The next set of tests may involve brain scans or neuroimaging, which provides a picture of the brain. Your child's doctor may also decide to do electrophysiological tests to examine brain activity. For more information about all these diagnostic tests, please see the pages on “Diagnostic Procedures.” </p>
<p>In most cases, the first doctor who will treat your child is a neurosurgeon. They will look at the results of the brain scans and physical examination and decide whether or not your child needs surgery. </p>
<h2>What is grading?</h2>
<p>Grading is a system that indicates how aggressively tumour cells are growing. Grade 1 tumours are considered benign and they do not grow fast. Grade 4 tumours are malignant, or cancerous, and they grow very quickly. The grade of a tumour is used to plan treatment and predict the course of the disease. </p>
<p>A doctor called a pathologist studies the tumour cells under a microscope to give the tumour a grade.</p>
<h2>What is staging?</h2>
<p>Staging determines the type of treatment that is most effective. This depends on a number of factors such as the child’s age, the type and size of tumour, and whether it has spread to other parts of the body. </p>
<p>To stage the tumour, the following diagnostic tools are used: computerized tomography (CT) scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), lumbar puncture, and sometimes bone marrow studies. </p>
<h2>What happens after the diagnosis is made?</h2>
<p>Once the doctor knows the type of brain tumour, they will sit down with you and explain the diagnosis and treatment. It is difficult to explain everything about a brain tumour at one meeting. Depending on the situation, it may take several sessions to talk about all the issues. </p>
<p>The doctor will present a treatment plan during one of your meetings. The treatment plan could include observation, surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and follow-up care. In some cases, another operation may be needed. The doctor will explain and recommend the best choice for treatment for your child’s situation. Treatments are explained in the “<a href="/Article?contentid=1347&language=English">Treatment</a>” section of the site. </p>
<p>Each meeting with your child’s doctors and other medical professionals during diagnosis is important, and can be difficult emotionally. For these reasons, bring paper and a pen and take notes to help you remember the new information you may be learning and to write down questions as you think of them. You may also bring a relative or friend to take notes for you. </p> | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | https://assets.aboutkidshealth.ca/AKHAssets/understanding_diagnosis_brain_tumours.jpg | | | | | | | Understanding diagnosis of a brain tumour | |
